Poll: Thais want both govt and PDRC to take a step back

BANGKOK, 17 February 2014 A majority of Thais have expressed the hope that both the government and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) will take a step back in order to ease the political tension.

Suan Dusit Poll has revealed the results of its survey of 1,300 people nationwide, saying nearly eighty-four percent of respondents thought that the current social conflict was being stirred up by only two political parties, Pheu Thai and the Democrats, as they have different viewpoints and are not willing to reach a settlement.

Twenty-six percent of the people questioned said the current impasse was affecting their lives, while eighteen percent thought it was hurting the nation as a whole, causing instability and damaging the country’s image.

When asked what would be the best solution, forty-four percent of the respondents said the government and the protesters needed to take a step back and put the country’s interests first, whereas seventeen percent thought that the best way out was to find a mediator who could help the two sides reach a compromise.